


Strawberries

by ghostbabyyy



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Bonding, Drama, F/M, Family Drama, Friendship, Gen, Imprinting (Twilight), Love, Other, Romance, Sex, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:20:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26367073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostbabyyy/pseuds/ghostbabyyy
Summary: Katherine Fiske had been in the dark her entire life, thanks to a mother who wanted to keep her heritage hidden.After her mother’s passing, she uncovers many secrets about a family that was left behind.Will she welcome them as her own? Or will she choose to run and hide?
Relationships: Paul Lahote/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 16





	Strawberries

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and content from the Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer. All Quileute legends and cultural references belong to the Quileute Tribe.

I looked up at the sudden downpour of rain as the casket was lowered into the ground. It seemed like a fitting way to mark the end of the strained relationship I had with my mother. We were never a tight knit pair, I couldn’t even remember a time when she had a conversation with me unless it was absolutely necessary. It was as if I didn’t exist to her. 

She had never even _tried_ to have a healthy relationship with me, her only child. She kept busy with random work or house chores when I was home, as if she needed any and every excuse to never have to look me in the eye. Whenever I did catch myself staring into her dark onyx eyes, she would scowl and rush into another room. 

As I got older, she became colder. It was no secret that she regretted having me; when I was old enough to understand, she wasted no time explaining her true feelings any chance she got. The bits and pieces of what my subconscious could remember reminded me that I was the reason my mother was miserable in Maine; that I was the reason she fled from the life she had in her hometown. My maternal grandmother, Rowan Fiske, was the only family member I had contact with through the years. 

I knew I had other family members aside from her, but I never dared ask questions. My 12th birthday was the last time my gram was allowed to call me, but she always called me in secret when she knew her daughter wouldn’t be around. I wanted so badly to go to her, to meet the family that was left behind in mother's rush to flee and hide her mistake. I felt someone grab my arm gently, snapping me out of my daze. I turned my head to see Mariana smiling at me sympathetically.

“Nathan’s bringing the car around. We thought we could all go for a drink,” she said gently, linking her arm with mine.

I looked back toward where my mother's casket sat just moments ago. It had been lowered into the ground and was being covered with dirt, her headstone already surrounded by flowers left behind by her friends. I was frozen in place as the rain came down harder now, my shoes already soaked. Mariana didn’t wait for my answer as she tugged on my arm to signal she was taking me back to the car. I started walking with her, letting my feet take over as my mind was clouded with all the emotions I was feeling in that moment. 

As we got closer to the pavement I saw my grandmother talking with the priest who did the service. My mother went to church every Sunday, and had built a trusting relationship with her priest. I didn’t believe in a higher power like she did, but the guilt that consumed me when she got sick convinced me to start attending church in her place.

“Oh, Katherine!,” my grandmother exclaimed, “Are you going back to the house? Could you take the food out when you get there? The guests will be arriving shortly.” 

My grandmother had been living in Maine the last six months or so. She moved in with us when my mother got sick, to help me take care of her. I think she felt guilty for not being more involved in my life during the last 21 years, but she would never say it. 

“Of course gram, I think Nathan is going to take us back now. I’ll see you at home,” I said, leaning forward to hug her and kiss her cheek. Even while wearing flats I towered over her tiny 5’3 frame. 

I thanked the priest for the service and followed Mariana, hopping into the car that our friend Nathan had pulled around for us. As I opened the back door Nathan’s sister, Rachel, was practically jumping down my throat with concern for how I was feeling.

Rachel and Nathan Abrahms were twins, and we had been friends since before birth. Our mothers met while they were still pregnant, both working as tellers at a bank at the time. They, along with our other long-time friend Mariana Saba, had been the only constants in my life for as long as I can remember. 

I appreciated Rachels concern, but sometimes she could be overbearing. I didn’t respond to her, because I truthfully didn’t know how to. My mother had passed after a short but painful battle with an illness doctors hadn’t been able to figure out. For a while she had been losing weight as a result of one of her crazy diets, and then was suddenly waking up every day for weeks in severe pain. I assumed it was because she wasn’t eating right, so I was never concerned. I still remember hearing her scream from the bathroom weeks later as she discovered something was definitely wrong. After taking her to the hospital (her request, and the first time she spoke to me _without_ venom dripping with every word), everything that came after was a complete blur. 

The doctors performed so many surgeries on her. Each time they fixed one thing, something else was wrong. I can still hear her screaming whenever I have a dream about her. Her last six months were the closest we had been since I could remember.

My emotions were so difficult for me to comprehend. I just planned a funeral for, and buried, a woman that I barely knew. We hardly talked to each other until she was on her deathbed. She was never concerned about where I was when I’d spend late nights at a friends house without telling her, she never called to yell at me to come home on school nights. Hell, she didn’t even say anything when I left weed in our downstairs bathroom by accident. I only knew she saw it because it had been packed back into the tin and placed on the kitchen counter. 

After high school I planned on taking time off before college. My friends and I had plans to travel across the country together, but by the time summer came that year they were all eager to move upstate for school. When my mother got sick not even a year ago, they dropped everything to come home and be with me. I appreciated them for that, and it was something I would never be able to repay them for.

I missed them when they were gone, but I could keep busy just fine. I had a few friends from work that I would spend time with, but after my mother fell ill I got a second job. During the day I worked in the admissions office at a community college, and at night and on weekends I was bartender at one of the busiest bars in downtown Portland. I had no free time, but the tips helped make up for it.

I felt the car stop and looked out the window at my little blue house. I let out a sigh as I opened the car door, taking note that it had stopped raining. I could see a rainbow above the house and off in the distance. I secretly wondered if it was a sign of good things to come. I took the house keys out of my purse as I slowly walked along the pathway leading from the driveway, hearing my friends talk quietly behind me. 

“Kat, are you sure you’re okay? We don’t have to stay here if you’re uncomfortable,” I heard Nathan ask as he placed his hand over mine to take my keys and unlock the door. I didn’t even notice my hands were shaking.

“Yeah Kat, we can leave if you want. You can get into some comfortable clothes and we can go get a drink, or chill at our place, anything you want…” I heard Rachel trail off as she shut the front door and waited for me to respond. I barely spoke a word to them since this morning. It was very out of character for me to not be talking, especially since my bartending job required me to be a chatterbox. 

“I have to start setting up the food, but maybe later.” I started getting the food set up on the kitchen island like my grandmother asked, hoping my friends would stop worrying about me so much. Opening the fridge I saw one of my mother’s lunch containers sitting in the fridge. The morning that I heard her scream she had been getting ready for work, and after that first day in the hospital everything else in my life was a complete afterthought. Things had been so hectic since then that I barely had time to clean out any of her things.

I started sobbing uncontrollably, the fridge door hanging open as I fell to my knees on the kitchen floor. Forceful sobs left my throat as my body started shaking and my heart started beating a mile a minute. I pulled at my neck with one hand, trying to take my necklace off between choked sobs. I couldn’t breathe and felt like I was suffocating.

Suddenly a pair of small arms wrapped around me and started rocking me back and forth.

“Shhh,” Mariana was petting my hair with one hand while she held me with the other, “it’s okay Kat. Take deep breaths, focus on your breathing; you’re having a panic attack.” She rocked me back and forth on the kitchen floor for a while and took off the necklace I had been clawing at. 

I’m not sure how long we sat on the floor like that, but by the time I got my breathing under control, my grandmother had come home and the twins had finished setting up the food.

Mariana helped me up off the floor and placed a friendly kiss on top of my head. She had always been the mom of our group and was always the first one to offer comfort to the rest of us.

“Are you feeling better?” she asked me, giving my arm a consoling squeeze.

“I think so,” I replied, “I’m not really sure where that came from. I think I’ve been trying to avoid talking about all these emotions but clearly that wasn’t helping.” I chuckled lightly and fixed my dress, which had been wrinkled from sitting on the floor for so long. 

My grandmother peeked her head around the corner from the living room, “Why don’t you guys clean up and get out of the house for a little while, I think you all need it.” I felt bad leaving her here with people she didn’t know well, but I knew she was right. I hadn’t realized it until she got sick, but my mother had a lot of friends that I didn’t know about. It intensified the feeling that I was missing out on a relationship with her. 

I ran upstairs to my room to change into a pair of jeans and a dressy black tank top before fixing my makeup. I looked in the mirror and noticed my mascara had completely disappeared from all the crying I was doing. I reapplied it and added some red lipstick to my plump lips. I knew I had to have gotten those from someone else, because my mother had some of the thinnest lips I’d ever seen.

I met my friends downstairs and said goodbye to my grandmother as we headed out the door. The drive downtown was silent aside from the music that was playing on the car radio.

“Thank you for being so supportive, you guys. I know things have been kinda hectic lately but I appreciate you guys being here for me.” Mariana grabbed my hand as I spoke, giving it a light squeeze.

“Of course, what are friends for?,” she exclaimed, “Oh! Maybe we could go on a trip! It's the perfect time for it.”

She wasn’t wrong; my free time was no longer being spent taking care of my mother, I was probably going to sell the house, and my friends didn’t have to go back to school until the fall. It really was perfect timing. 

“Actually, yeah, maybe we should. I’ve always wanted to see where my mother grew up. She never talked about it with me, but I’ve seen pictures.”

“Oh shit, that’s right. Where was she from, anyway?” Nathan asked, glancing at me in the rearview mirror.

“She was from La Push, Washington.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I have yet to decide which book this takes place in, or after, but it will have some AU elements.
> 
> I have some ideas and concepts lined up for the story that I'm very excited about, but if there's anything specific you'd like to see or if you have any ideas, don't hesitate to let me know! I'll always do my best to put warnings for sensitive content at the beginning of each chapter, when applicable. This chapter is simply an introduction to the story, so it's shorter than future chapters will be.
> 
> *The title is taken from the song "Strawberries" by Caamp.


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